edrach

There's hope; water pump has been replaced and things look promising since nothing bad is coming from the tail pipe. However, the car is not warming up as it should and it appears the water is not circulating. Stay tuned.

I heard from James this morning and it appears the water pump failed. Unfortunately, it likely took out a head gasket also; we'll see. I have a stash of parts that he took with him and there's a water pump in there. More information pending.

Makes you wonder why these cars got "stored" in the first place. I had more trouble getting my other son's Brat to run right after it had only been sitting for 6 months. Now I've got to find where the exhaust leak is; I couldn't let it run last night at 11pm....waaaaay too much noise.

They were heading for Marquette, MI. He had bought a motorcycle and was going to pick it up and bring it back to Washington.

Thanks a lot; James has his cell phone with him and his # is 360-510-1224; I think they're sleeping in the Brat tonight. Feel free to pass his number on to someone in Bozeman.

Thank you. Seems everyone in Bozeman is out for the weekend. Understandable if the weather was as nice there as here.

I'd suggest you try to find another centercap, but if you can't I have a set of the 4 spoke alloys from 1984. They are for sale and I can ship them out. I typically get $100 plus shipping for the older alloy wheels. If that works for you drop me a PM and I'll get you some more info.

I bought an '82 Brat a few months ago; pretty cheap (but I think I may have paid too much, but that's besides the point) but re-storable. I replaced the water pump, radiator, and one front axle for starters. When I put in a battery and tried to start it, it turned over okay but wouldn't fire. Easy solution, in amongst all the vacuum lines and junk the ignition wire from the coil and from #3 cylinder were missing! Went to PAP today and got a set of nice NGK wires for under $3 (gotta love that PAP) and installed them and turned over the key. It started right up!! This is a car that's been sitting for close to 5 years and other than badly needing an exhaust, looks like it could run down the road tomorrow! At least something went okay for me today.

Thanks a lot for the info; I think you're right about tailgatewagon. I'll send it off.

Jrach was driving my Brat to Michigan to pick up a motorcycle. From the sounds of it he blew a headgasket just outside of Bozeman. Anyone out there who can contact him and advise where to take it for repair and a reasonable hotel. I just talked to him and it might be more simple than that, but it certainly sounds ominous. His cell # is 360-510-1224. I'll try to work out stuff from here but right now I'm just looking for some local help. Thanks, ===edrach=== Update (10:15 PDT): Well, James got towed back to Bozeman and they're in the Brat in the parking lot of a NAPA place next to a bar in Bozeman. Seems all the hotels are booked so they'll be roughing it in the Brat.

This must have been what I saw in the wrecking yard yesterday. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39263

A while back I was talking with someone on the board (I think) who was looking for a rear hatch for a "high top" wagon. I don't remember who it was but I hope he picks up on the title. I was at I-5 Auto Wrecking in Chehalis, WA today looking for Impreza parts and saw a wagon with the roof line raised another 4 inches or so....only the 2nd one I've ever seen. Anyway, if you read this post and are looking for the hatch or other parts unique to this roofline, the car's inventory number is 89-10377. They also had an XT4 in the yard; apparently originally a turbo model but someone had installed a fuel-injected motor in it and stashed the turbo motor in the trunk and then gave up on the project and junked the XT. Supposedly in quite good condition. I don't know anything more about it and I didn't see it while I was wandering through the yard.

Austin, my youngest kid (jrach) is travelling east to Marquette, MI (in MY brat) to pick up a motorcycle. He's leaving tonight and has to pass through your current residence on the way. He'll head north into Wisconsin and then east into the Upper Peninsula area of MI. I can forward a 'phone # to him for anyone who PMs me with one; he won't have much time to chat, but it would be nice if he could meet some of our midwest members.

I suggest www.cvaxles.com in Ocala, FL for quality rebuilt axles. I just had to replace one I put on the Brat 4 or 5 years ago and it was just that the inner boot on the passenger side (just above the catalytic converter) had failed. $55 plus refundable core cost and shipping and I'd check their warantee also. If you're doing the wrecking yard thing, I've had good luck selecting used axles at Pull a Part for under $25 each (tax included) and they typically last me more than the 18 months you've gotten out of your Pepboys axle. Once you get used to the tricks of replacing the axles, you'll find you can do one in under an hour. I just did one on a Brat I'm trying to restore in a liesurely 30 minutes.

Trust me, Verizon the phone company knows diddly about DSL; and Verizon the ISP can't work the 'phone centrals.....And they don't talk to each other either!!

Jeanne and I will be there; likely staying in our Toyota RV but bringing the Brat just for fun.

By the way, that's the pic of the later version ('85 and up) of that wheel. The '80 to '84 version looks similar but is less prone to becoming unbalanced. The older version also rubs on the front caliper of the '85 and newer cars. Price here is the same.

Our local PAP yard charges $9.50US plus 8.8% sales tax for the wheel with the tire still present.

Come to think of it, it WAS a very productive 4th of July weekend. We got lots done........

They couldn't put in the order for the new system back on 6/21 when this all started? Annoying when they think they've got you by the short hairs. I remember when Verizon accidentally disconnected my DSL---their error, not mine---and it took them 30 days to hook me up again!!!! And that was with me "tactfully" suggesting they get their act in gear the whole time. Another reason I dropped Verizon when we moved. I don't miss them at all.

Odd, my '91 Legacy's rad would never have fit into my '86 wagon....well it might fit, but the mounting holes wouldn't match up.

Besides the large bolt holding the Harmonic Balancer, you've got a woodruff key that prevents the HB from rotating on the crankshaft. Since the HB had come loose, I'd suspect the the groove in the HB is worn and allows the HB to come loose quickly. Remove the HB and look at it and see if the groove is worn and make sure the woodruff key is not missing or badly worn. Hopefully the crank portion where the woodruff key fits is not worn too. Replace the worn parts and tighten down the bolt with a good thread locker and you should be okay. If you need another Harmonic Balancer, I have one I can ship you.

Some pics were added today and results were re-organized.

Cool, I went to school in Hoboken; met my future wife at Jersey City Medical Center where she was studying Nursing. That brings back fond memories. Best of luck on your trip; everything should be okay.

What year?